National Center for Healthcare Advancement and Partnerships
VHA Community Partnership Challenge
One VHA Community Partnership Challenge winner creates a ‘safety net’ for Veterans seeking mental health care
By Dr. Tracy L. Weistreich, Nurse Executive, VHA National Center for Healthcare Advancement and Partnerships
This year, leaders from within the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Veterans Health Administration (VHA) selected the Ralph H. Johnson VA Health Care System in Charleston, South Carolina as one of three VHA National Community Partnership Challenge (CPC) winners for its efforts to coordinate follow-up care for Veterans being treated for mental health issues at community hospitals.
The VAMC’s Suicide Prevention team set up processes with six local community health hospital so that the team would be notified when a Veteran they treat receives inpatient care at those facilities. The team then worked to ensure that the Veteran had a scheduled mental health appointment within seven days of discharge, a robust safety plan, and any medications they needed. The team said that coordinating this handoff prevents at-risk Veterans from falling through the cracks.
“The period of weeks to months following discharge from a psychiatric hospital is a high-risk time for suicide attempts and death by suicide,” said the Suicide Prevention Supervisor Dr. Jenifer Wray.
“We aim to meet the Veterans where they are at (i.e., hospitalized in the community) and work with staff at community hospitals to ensure that Veterans receive the same robust follow up care that would be provided if the Veteran was hospitalized at the VA,” she said.
This Suicide Prevention team’s work fit the CPC’s theme this year, which is “Adaptability in a Changing World.” Winning partnerships focused their work on helping diverse populations of Veterans especially in times of uncertainty, such as during the coronavirus pandemic.
“Consistent with the theme of the challenge this year, this partnership demonstrates ‘going the extra mile’ to ensure that all Veterans are cared for and receive the services they need to recover and thrive during the high-risk period of time following hospital discharge,” said Wray.
A member of the Suicide Prevention Team shared feedback from a representative of one of its partnering local health clinics, who said: “Our staff feels that we have a solid ‘safety net’ in place with the patient when they’re admitted to our facility.”
“Patients feel a more sense of comfort knowing that we’re working in conjunction with the VA to provide the best continuity of care during their acute stay,” the community health facility representative added.
Wray said the team is “very proud to do this work” because improving care transitions helps Veterans at high risk for suicide. “To date, we have robust relationships with seven area hospital [systems] and look forward to expanding this initiative to work more closely with staff at additional facilities,” she said.
The CPC is an annual award recognizing outstanding partnerships that help Veterans and their communities. The competition is managed by the VHA’s National Center for Healthcare Advancement and Partnerships (HAP) which facilitates partnerships advancing the health and well-being of Veterans.
For more information on HAP’s partnership work and the CPC, please visit: va.gov/healthpartnerships.
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Posted September 14, 2021
